Primoz Roglic wins an actual bike race in the real world: Daily News Digest
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Hello again, CyclingTips readers.
Well, the news just keeps on coming, and this weekend in the world of cycling was no exception.
There was an exciting milestone over the weekend – an actual bike race happened, in the real world and everything! In one of the first events since coronavirus forced a dramatic reshuffle of the calendar, Primoz Roglic got his 2020 season off to the best start possible, winning the Slovenian national road championships ahead of Tadej Pogacar.
A different kind of milestone was marked over in the US, meanwhile, with Lachlan Morton returning to Rist Canyon in Colorado to target the Everesting record. After having his previous attempt nixed due to faulty elevation data, there was no ambiguity this time around, with Morton landing an astonishing time just below seven and a half hours.
Meanwhile, the founder of the world’s biggest gravel race, Dirty Kanza, got fired by the event’s parent company after a Facebook post suggesting that a police killing was “justified”.
All that and more in today’s Daily News Digest.
What’s news
| Primoz Roglic and Ursa Pintar win Slovenian National Championships
In one of the first races organised since the season went on hiatus due to COVID-19, Primoz Roglic got the better of Tadej Pogacar to win the Slovenian National Championships. The two riders escaped on the final eight kilometre climb of the race, with Roglic attacking to cross the line solo, ten seconds ahead of Pogacar.
“It is really wonderful that the situation allows us to finally race again and to do what we do best, racing our bikes,” Roglic said in a team press release. “I am therefore very happy that I was able to take the national title in my first race of the season.”
In the women’s race, over a 68km course, Ursa Pintar (Ale BTC Ljubljana) took the win, 14 seconds ahead of Spela Kern (Lviv Cycling Team). Nine minutes back, in third place, was Urska Zigart (Ale BTC Ljubljana).
Slovenia’s national championship is a rare outlier, with event organisers pushing on with the originally scheduled date. Most other European national championships will be held on August 22-23.
| Lachlan Morton breaks Everesting record (for real this time)
Less than a week after his last attempt at the Everesting record, which was nullified due to flawed elevation data, Lachlan Morton has returned to a slightly different segment of the same climb for another crack.
This time, there was no doubt – the Australian climber set a time of 7 hours, 29 minutes and 57 seconds, beating the previous mark set by Keegan Swenson by ten minutes. Chapeau.
| Dirty Kanza founder Jim Cummins fired for Facebook post
The founder of Dirty Kanza, Jim Cummins, has been fired by the race’s parent company, Life Time Events, following a post on Cummins’ personal Facebook page that described the police shooting of Rayshard Brooks as “justified.”
Rayshard Brooks’ killing is at the centre of intense scrutiny and debate over the use of force in American policing.
“Following a review of the post made by the founder of Dirty Kanza, we found it to be inappropriate and insensitive, and we stand against it as an organization,” a statement from Life Time read. “As an outcome of our investigation, we have parted ways with this individual.”
| Froome tells teammates he’s staying with Ineos for Tour de France
Chris Froome’s contract negotiations continue. According to some reports, the four-time Tour de France winner is close to a mid-season deal with Israel Start-Up Nation. Now, a report from inside the team suggests that may not be the case.
Dylan van Baarle, an Ineos teammate of Froome’s who is currently on a training camp with the squad’s Tour de France longlist, told Dutch newspaper AD that Froome said to teammates that he’s sticking around.
“Of course we’ve talked about it, because it’s in the news all the time. But, as far as I know, he’s staying and wants to ride the Tour with Ineos,” Van Baarle said.
“In the end, I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes with him either, but that’s what he says to us, so I assume he’ll be there.”
Meanwhile, Patrick Lefevere, the boss of Deceuninck-Quickstep, has helpfully weighed in on Froome’s contract negotiations in his column in Het Nieuwsblad, saying that he isn’t in a position to sign Froome, but wouldn’t anyway, even if he could, because of his age.
| Sunweb team shuffles
Following reports that Jumbo Visma’s Laurens de Plus had been linked to a move to Team Ineos, there are ripples in other teams.
Sunweb appears on the verge of restructuring its lineup for the coming year, with Sam Oomen and Wilco Kelderman both on the way out, while Romain Bardet is rumoured to be coming in. Oomen will join former Sunweb teammate Tom Dumoulin at Jumbo Visma, and in turn provide some of the climbing firepower lost with de Plus’ likely departure.
| Amy Cure retires ahead of Tokyo Olympics
Amy Cure, a stalwart of the Australian Track Cycling team, has retired from competition effective immediately. Cure’s announcement comes ahead of the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics, for which Cure was selected.
“I have settled on this decision for a little while now, and I’m confident I have made the right choice and am excited for the next chapter in my life,” said Cure.
Over her 12 year career, Cure won three world championships – Team Pursuit in both 2015 and 2019, and Points Race in 2014. She was also selected for three Olympic teams, won ten national titles and two Commonwealth Games gold medals.
In case you missed it
| Bolivian bus drivers taste life as a cyclist
In a novel training session, bus drivers in Bolivia rode on stationary bikes and experienced a close pass by a bus.
| Lachlan Morton breaks Everesting record (for real this time) in 7:29:57
EF Pro Cycling’s Lachlan Morton has broken the Everesting record, setting a time of 7 hours, 29 minutes and 57 seconds, less than a week after his previous attempt was nullified due to bad elevation data.
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SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY NEWS DIGEST PODCASTToday’s featured image is of Primoz Roglic at the 2019 Tour of Romandie, and comes from Cor Vos.
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